UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab Education & Digital Skills Conversation Event took place on December 8th 2021. The event was organised by Dr Katharine Jewitt from The Open University and Lee Dunn from the Scottish Digital Academy at The Scottish Government. The team can be followed on Twitter @UNDigitalSkills. A keynote was delivered by Dr. Debbie Holley from Bournemouth University. The interdisciplinary event explored four key themes:
1. School Education and Digital Literacy
2. Professional learning, training and capability
3. Digital futures and emerging technologies,
4. Praxis of digital transformation.
In an earlier blog post, the idea of techno-biography was explored with William Leschallas, Head of School of Real Estate and Land Management at the RAU. Responding to the theme of Professional Learning, Training and Capability, a research poster was submitted that aimed to both outline the techno-biographic apprach and identify a further development of techno-autoethnography. This method can be used as an opportunity to provide an “identify performance” (Clark, 2020).
“Ethnography is a qualitative research method in which a researcher—an ethnographer—studies a particular social/cultural group with the aim to better understand it. Ethnography is both a process (e.g., one does ethnography) and a product (e.g., one writes an ethnography). In doing ethnography, an ethnographer actively participates in the group in order to gain an insider’s perspective of the group and to have experiences similar to the group members”
Allen 2017
Telling our pedagogical stories could be argued to be part of a “world-centered education” (Biesta, 2022). It could also be part of a new “e-learning ecologies” (Cope & Kalantzis, 2017: p1).
Research posters could be viewed in an immersive virtual gallery created by a tool called Kunst Matrix. This tool “is a unique tool that enables you to create beautiful 3D showcases of your art to impress art lovers and collectors. Digitally present and manage your art, including an augmented reality app to show a preview of your work in any space you like!” (Kunst Matrix, n.d.). The virtual gallery with the research posters cna be accessed here.
Another potential development could be to explore heuristic inquiry.
“Heuristic inquiry attempts to discover the nature and meaning of phenomenon through internal pathways of self using the processes of self-reflection, exploration, and elucidation of the nature of phenomenon that is being studied”
(Douglass & Moustakas, 1995, in Djuraskovic & arthur, 2010: p1572)
The implication for the role of the researcher is that it is possible to “…explore openly and pursue the creative path that originates inside of one ’s being and that discovers its direction and meaning within oneself” (Djuraskovic & Arthur, 2010: p1572).
The hashtag on Twitter for the event was #UNDigitalSkills.
The research poster can be accessed online here and the entire collection of research posters can be both accessed and downloaded here.
A PDF version of the research poster can be accessed below:
‘I’m a Learning Technologist. Get Me Out of Here’. A techno-autoethnographic poem’ is a development of the techno-biographic approach exploring techno-autoethnography and is published in the Being creative in the face of adversity. The #creativeHE Annual 2021. Creativity for Learning in Higher Education Community, #creativeHE here. “Ethnographically based poetry” can an a creative opportunity to share our stories (Prince 2021). A further opportunity to develop the techno-autoethnographic approach will be at the Virtually Undisciplined: Diversifying Higher Education and Research through interconnectivity conference organised by Women in Academic Support Network (WIASN) in March – April 2022.
Bibliography
Allen, M., (ed) Ethnography in The SAGE Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods (Online) Available at: https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483381411.n169 [Accessed 8 December 2021]
Biesta, G., (2022) World-Centered Education A View for the Present (1st ed) (New York & Oxon: Routledge)
Clark, D., (2020) Tech and me: an autoethnographic account of digital literacy as an identity performance. Research in Learning Technology, 28. (Online) Available at: https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v28.2389 [Accessed 8 December 2021]
Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M., (eds) (2017) ‘Conceptualising Environments‘ in e-Learning Ecologies: Principles for New Learning and Assessment. pp1-46 (New York & London: Routledge)
Djuraskovic, I., & Arthur, N., (2010) Heuristic Inquiry: A Personal Journey of Acculturation and Identity Reconstruction [pdf] in The Qualitative Report Volume 15 Number 6 November 2010 pp1569-1593(Online) Available at: http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR15-6/djuraskovic.pdf
Kunst Matrix (n.d.) (Online) Available at: https://www.kunstmatrix.com/en [Accessed 8 December 2021]
Jewitt, K., (2021): UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab Education and Digital Skills: A Conversation Event. 8 December 2021 Collection. The Open University. Collection. (Online) Available at:https://doi.org/10.21954/ou.rd.c.5752247.v5 [Accessed 17 December 2021]
Prince, C., (2021) Experiments in Methodology: Sensory and Poetic Threads of Inquiry, Resistance, and Transformation. Qualitative Inquiry. [e-journal] 2022: 28 (1):94-107. DOI: 10.1177/10778004211014611
Leschallas, W., & McDonald, P., (2021) Techno-autobiography & the Transnational Online Pivot: Exploring a Lecturer’s Experience of Teaching Online. Digitalrau.wordpress.com Digital Transformation Blog [blog] 12th Dec. Available at: https://digitalrau.wordpress.com/2021/01/12/techno-autobiography-the-transnational-online-pivot-exploring-a-lecturers-experience-of-teaching-online/ [Accessed 8 December 2021]
McDonald, P., (2021) ‘I’m a Learning Technologist. Get Me Out of Here’. A techno-autoethnographic poem’ in Tasler, N., O’Brien, R, E. & Spiers, A. (eds.) (2021) Being creative in the face of adversity. The #creativeHE Annual 2021. Creativity for Learning in Higher Education Community, #creativeHE [e-journal] pp24-27 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25416/NTR.17709860.v1
McDonald, P., & Leschallas, W., (2021) Exploring the Impact of Techno-biography on the development of Digital Literacy. Poster presented at: UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab Education and Digital Skills: A Conversation Event. 8 December 2021 (Online) Available at: https://ordo.open.ac.uk/articles/poster/Exploring_the_impact_of_Techno-biography_on_the_development_of_Digital_Literacy/17212457?backTo=/collections/UNESCO_Inclusive_Policy_Lab_Education_and_Digital_Skills_A_Conversation_Event_8_December_2021_Collection/5752247 [Accessed 17th December 2021]
The Open University (n.d.) UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab Education and Digital Skills: A Conversation Event. 8 December 2021 Collection (Online) Available at: https://ordo.open.ac.uk/collections UNESCO_Inclusive_Policy_Lab_Education_and_Digital_Skills_A_Conversation_Event_8_December_2021_Collection/5752247/5 [Accessed 17 December 2021]
UNESCO (n.d.) Inclusive Policy Lab (Online) Available at: https://en.unesco.org/inclusivepolicylab/ [Accessed 8 December 2021]
Women in Academic Support Network (WIASN) (2022) Virtually Undisciplined: Diversifying Higher Education and Research through interconnectivity (Online) Available at: https://www.wiasn.com/conference-call/?fbclid=IwAR3IFIrUjpwDp0nLvMRZko7nGYzkvzBAIKOQaDccmpIhkZ7yNgLr3cEtabo [Accessed 7 January 2022]
Digital Transformation at RAU 